Bio 

Vincent Allen Johnson was born on September 1, 1958. Publicly available records identify him as a former oil field worker from Oklahoma. Court records state that he lived in Kinta, Oklahoma, where he had been raised. Before the murder of Shirley A. Mooneyham, Johnson had also served four years in the United States Marine Corps and received an honorable discharge. He later worked in oil fields and machine shops, trained horses, and completed two years of college.

Johnson had a prior violent felony conviction before Mooneyham’s murder. Court records show that the jury later considered this prior conviction as one of the aggravating factors during the sentencing phase of his capital murder trial. The file provided also states that Johnson had been convicted of manslaughter in 1979 and received a 15-year sentence.

In November 1990, Johnson met Deborah Elaine Johnson. They began living together and were married on January 8, 1991. The couple first stayed with Johnson’s sister, Clara Walker, in Kinta. They later moved into the home of John Crain, who was seriously ill and lived in Lona Valley between Kinta and Quinton, Oklahoma. Johnson and Deborah agreed to help care for Crain and look after his horses.

Through Crain, Johnson was introduced to Ted Holt, the former common-law husband of Shirley Mooneyham. According to Deborah Johnson’s later testimony, Holt and Crain were upset with Mooneyham and discussed that she needed to be “eliminated.” After one of those conversations, Johnson told Deborah that the men had asked him to kill Mooneyham.

Murder Story

On February 8, 1991, Shirley A. Mooneyham was killed inside her rural home in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. She was 44 years old. Court records state that Mooneyham was shot six times and died from gunshot wounds to her head and chest. Before her death, Mooneyham had been in a difficult relationship with Ted Holt, her former common-law husband. The two were no longer living together. Mooneyham was reportedly afraid of Holt and kept a .38-caliber pistol on her kitchen table and with her when she left home.

On the morning of the murder, Robin Dawn Jackson, Holt’s 14-year-old niece, was living with Mooneyham. Jackson left for school at about 7:15 a.m. while Mooneyham was still in bed. Johnson later went to Mooneyham’s residence after first going to his workplace and stating that he would not be working that day. Court records state that he waited near Mooneyham’s home until the school bus passed, then went to the residence.

Mooneyham knew Johnson and allowed him inside the home. The two sat at the kitchen table and smoked marijuana. Mooneyham’s .38-caliber pistol was on the table. After about 45 minutes, Mooneyham got up to make coffee. While her back was turned, Johnson picked up her pistol and also pulled out a pistol from his pocket. When Mooneyham turned around, she said, “Oh, Vince, don’t,” and Johnson opened fire using both guns.

After the shooting, Johnson returned to John Crain’s residence. He later called Ted Holt at H & H Cattle Company and said that “the deed was done.” At Crain’s suggestion, Johnson later disposed of the murder weapons by throwing them into a strip pit north of Kinta, Oklahoma. Divers later recovered one pistol from the water, and ballistic testing connected that weapon to bullets found at the crime scene.

When Robin Dawn Jackson returned home from school later that day, she found Mooneyham lying in blood on the kitchen floor. Investigators also found propane gas fumes in the house because the stove’s left front burner and oven had been turned on.

On May 1, 1991, agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation conducted an operation using informant Tim Allen. Allen wore a transmitter, and a vehicle was equipped with a recording device. During a recorded conversation, Johnson admitted his role in Mooneyham’s murder and described the killing in detail. He also said he was angry with Holt because he had not received the $100,000 he claimed had been promised for killing Mooneyham.

On May 3, 1991, Deborah Johnson was arrested during an unrelated drug investigation. During questioning, she told authorities about the conversations involving Holt and Crain and said Johnson had admitted killing Mooneyham. Murder charges were then filed against Johnson and Holt. Johnson was arrested on May 4, 1991. After his arrest, he confessed and directed officers to the strip pits where he had discarded the weapons.

Johnson was tried in Pittsburg County District Court, Case No. F-91-114, and convicted of first-degree malice aforethought murder. The jury found three aggravating circumstances: that Johnson had a prior violent felony conviction, that the murder was committed for remuneration or the promise of remuneration, and that he posed a continuing threat to society. He was sentenced to death in accordance with the jury’s recommendation.

Ted Holt and John Crain were also charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Holt was later acquitted in a separate trial, and prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Crain.

Johnson’s conviction and death sentence were affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in 1995. His later post-conviction appeal was denied in 1998, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit later affirmed the denial of federal habeas relief.

Vincent Allen Johnson was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on May 29, 2001. He was 42 years old and was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m.